MICK McCarthy admitted Wolves away form is becoming "a bit of a concern" after a fifth successive defeat without troubling the scorers.

MICK McCarthy admitted Wolves away form is becoming "a bit of a concern" after a fifth successive defeat without troubling the scorers.

And the Molineux boss insisted he was particularly put out that his players had dipped below the impressive standards set in so far exceeding all pre-season expectations.

"We just didn't compete against Hull and that's not really something that I've been able to level at the team so far," he said in the wake of Saturday's 2-0 defeat.

"And obviously the away form is becoming a bit of a concern. We started off well enough away from home, winning at Burnley and Leeds, and have produced some other decent performances without getting a result. But Hull was certainly not one of them and we need to get back to what we've been doing to make sure we improve.

"I can cope with losing if we perform better and to be fair to the players in general they've been excellent.

"I don't think anyone expected the earth, moon and stars from us this season but we've given ourselves a chance with how we've done so far.

"When we drop below those standards it's a real disappointment - we weren't as good as we could be and that's what rankles me."

Lewis Gobern made a decent impact as a second half substitute and McCarthy admitted he thought long and hard about the decision to drop him, taken more to give Wolves a more solid feel.

"Lewis had started the previous game and I did wonder about keeping him in there," he said. "Maybe I'll have to consider starting him more often.

"We know what he gives us and what we's got and also what he maybe doesn't give us as well."